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Filmmaker Nicole Holofcener recently received a Academy-Award nomination for adapted screenplay and won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film "Can You Ever Forgive Me?." We'll revisit our conversation with Nicole – when she stopped by we talked about another one of her recent projects, "The Land of Steady Habits." She'll also discuss her childhood growing up among Hollywood filmmaking royalty. Show notes

mike eagle

Open Mike Eagle (Tights and Fights, What Happens When I Try to Relax album) joins Jordan and Jesse for a discussion of Mike's popularity on the Hip Hop Heads Reddit despite his lack of face tattoos, why Jesse went big and bought a signature Ricky Henderson batting glove on eBay, and how Mike found himself in an actual professional wrestling match after a Twitter feud with a rapping wrestler.

Evolution was WWE’s very first all-women Pay-Per-View. And by most accounts, the event delivered in just about every way possible, including providing a candidate for match of the year. Mike, Hal, Danielle and Lindsey provide their reactions to the matches (including Lindsey’s account from attending the event in person).

But now this is immediately being followed up Crown Jewel. Not only will no women wrestlers be at the event, but John Cena and Daniel Bryan have also been written out due to, in all likelihood, their own personal disagreement.

Plus, Lindsey and Mike explain their feelings about Roman Reigns’s leukemia diagnosis and WWE decision to immediately capitalize on the real-life illness for story-telling purposes. How do you balance the need for the show to go on with sensitivity towards consequential issues? Especially with WWE toeing the line between characters and reality as much as ever with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins?

All this, including Danielle looking forward to Lucha Underground’s Ultima Lucha Cuatro, finding out who attacked Aleister Black and grooving to that sweet sweet Brood music.

Roman Reigns opened RAW with the announcement that he will be surrendering the Universal Championship since his leukemia has returned. This was the first time Roman had gone public with his diagnosis. His first encounter with the disease was 11 years ago.

Danielle and Hal discuss their reactions to the news, including why it affected them personally, their hopes for Roman’s return and what this means for a Monday Night RAW and WWE that now has to move forward without their biggest full-time star.

Plus, the pair will discuss the lackluster build to Evolution. The booking has been slipshod and lackluster for the past several months. Outside of the novelty of a brand new women’s only event, WWE hasn’t done much to get people excited about this show. Add in the fact that it’s happening so close to Crown Jewel, which won’t include any women and will still air from Saudi Arabia, and it’s hard to take the “women’s evolution” seriously these days.

Mike Eagle is already known as the insightful, funny and sometimes heelish co-host of Tights and Fights. He’s also regarded as a great rapper; he’s even started touring for the next several weeks. But recently, he also became an undefeated pro-wrestler.

That’s right… Mike went to the promotion OVW and took on wrestler Shiloh Jonze and actually came out victorious.

How did all of this get started? What possessed Mike to think that he could actually have a successful wrestling match?

How did all of this get started? What possessed Mike to think that he could actually have a successful wrestling match?

He’s ready to tell the story. Mike will detail everything; from why he was petty enough to answer Shiloh’s callout to any MC on the internet, to how he only had one day to learn how to wrestle, and how he decided what he was going to wear in the ring.

Plus, he’ll talk about how this may have been the ultimate culmination of everything he’s done throughout his life and career as a rapper.

But his presence on the internet pales in comparison to his greatest accomplishment: Getting his wife and kids into professional wrestling. Which segment does he credit for helping him do this successfully? None other than the Festival of Friendship.

The panel has plenty of things to get into this week, including the ongoing International drama surrounding WWE’s planned show in Saudi Arabia, the lack of build towards Evolution and why the Bellas vs. Ronda Rousey already feels like it’s off on the wrong foot.

Main Event

Last week Shawn Michaels, one of the WWE’s all-time greatest performers announced that he was officially coming out of retirement for a match against The Brothers of Destruction alongside his partner Triple H. Retirement rarely ever sticks in WWE, especially when it’s by choice. And while we never want to deny someone the right to do what they do well for money, where do we draw the line between nostalgia and an over-reliance on legacy?

Then, in a conversation recorded live at San Diego Comic-Con courtesy of Gamma Ray TV, Danielle and Hal sit down with Marty the Moth. These days he’s known for being the Lucha Underground Champion. But there was a time that he was just trying to get the attention of WWE for a chance to live his dream as a professional wrestler. Marty will detail his journey from watching wrestling for the first time to WWE’s reality show Tough Enough all the way to the temple of Lucha Underground.

This week, the founding members of the Nation of Conversation return for a fun look at all things wrestling!

There’s been tons of news this week to dive into, especially in the midst of the go-home shows for WWE Super Show-Down in Australia. Which titles should change hands at the stadium event? Is there actually any chance that WWE follows up on the possibility of Dean Ambrose betraying the Shield?

And in news from the international wrestling scene, Neville is officially back in the ring. He’s returned to his original name of PAC in Dragon Gate is finally set to perform everywhere that the WWE doesn’t touch. But why Dragon Gate? We’ve got some ideas.

The Main Event

This Saturday begins a string of 5 PPV’s for the WWE in two months. It’s two international stadium shows and three arena events. But for the viewers, is it really ideal for them to have so many shows airing at what, for U.S. fans, are off hours? Especially when so many of them are in this weird space of mattering to the overall narrative, but not mattering enough to affect said narrative?

That includes Lucha Underground’s new champion: Marty the Moth. The wrestler’s managed to come all the around from being a total joke to the top of the mountain and it’s really been something to see, even if you haven’t watched the entire saga from the beginning.

Plus, Samoa Joe has taken his rivalry to a whole new level after threatening AJ Styles’ family via Facetime from Smackdown. But Joe will explain why he wishes the rivalry for the WWE title was kept a bit more simple.

And why Danielle Radford is no longer interested in watching wrestling without any women, what the duo thinks of some of the biggest teams in the WWE and why The Revival is having such a hard time getting establishing themselves as a solid heel tag team.

The Main Event

Friendship is a fickle thing in wrestling. No matter how tight a team appears to be it always seems inevitable that they’ll be broken up by one person deciding to betray the other in their quest for singles glory. As recently as this past Monday, WWE planted the seeds for Dean Ambrose to be the one to break up the latest version of the Shield.

Why does it seems like betrayal is constantly in the background of wrestling? What are the other ways that WWE could try to separate its teams? And who on the current roster is set to receive that ultimate push that comes with both turning on your partner(s)... or being on the receiving end of that turn?

This week, Hal, Danielle and Lindsey joined by Josiah Williams! He’s the creator of the online series Wrestle and Flow, where he raps over remixed versions of different wrestlers’ entrance music. He’s been a fan for 15 years and is equipped and ready to talk about Hell in a Cell weekend!

The team’s feeling a little sour at the cluster of a main event from Sunday, especially at the return of Brock Lesnar. Plus, they’re none too happy about WWE immediately having another woman-free Saudi Arabian show, so quickly after Evolution no less.

But there were a lot of other things to get excited about, including the Becky Lynch finally capturing the Smackdown women’s championship! And if the panel has anything to say about it, she won’t lose that title until WrestleMania! But between Samoa Joe, Miz, and Andrade “Cien” Almas, who should get the WWE Title? And is anybody else still feeling a little sick from watching Randy rip off Jeff Hardy’s ear?

This week, the team is joined by Brian Brushwood! He’s a magician, comedian and host of the podcast Night Attack. And he also just happens to be a lapsed wrestling fan. Even though he still checks in with wrestling on occasion, he actually finds the stories behind the in-ring action to be even more fascinating than the TV product.

Mike and Danielle will bring Brian up to speed on some of the hottest stars and stories in wrestling today and what they think of them; that includes Braun Strowman turning heel and relying on others for victory after being such a capable monster on his own for a year, Becky Lynch’s new characteristics heading into Hell in a Cell and the amazing outfits from Alicia Fox.

Ring Tones

¡Viva La Raza! This segment is devoted to the music of Latino Heat, Eddie Guerrero! He died much too soon, but he still had an incredible career and is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.

We’ll hit all of his best tracks including LWO, the Radicalz, Latino Heat and more!